Paper roll handling mechanism



April 21, 1953 E. R. BACKOFEN ET AL 2,635,774

PAPER ROLL HANDLING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 25, 1949 Fla! INVENTOR. E. RYAN BAC KOFEN igv RED WAYNE GUNNING April 21, 1953 E. R. BACKOFEN ET AL 2,635,774

PAPER ROLL HANDLING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 23, 1949 INVENTOR. RYAN BACKOFEN ALFRED WAYNE GUNNING 81 ATTY.

E. R. BACKOFEN ET AL PAPER ROLL HANDLING MECHANISM April 21,"'1953 Filed June 23, 1949 FIG. 3

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. E. RYAN BACKOFEN ALFRED WAYNE. GUNNING ATTY.

April 21, 1953 E. R. BACKOFEN ET AL 2,635,774

PAPER ROLL HANDLING MECHANISM Filed June 23, 1949 5 Sheefs-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

v V INVENTOR. E. RYAN BACKOF'EN ALFRED WAYNE GUNNING ATTY April 21, 1953 E/R. BACKOFEN EIAL 2,535,774

PAPER ROLL HANDLING MECHANISM Filed June 23, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5

INVENTOR. E. RYAN BACKOFEN ALFRED WAYNE GUNNING ATTY. I

Patented Apr. 21, 1953 PAPER ROLL HANDLING MECHANISM E. Ryan Backofen and Alfred Wayne Gunning,

Battle Creek, Mich., assigncrs. to Clark Equipment Company, Buchanan, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June 23, 1949, Serial No. 100,886

(Cl. 214-652i 9 Claims.. 1

Our invention relates generally to. industrial trucks and more particularly to an industrial truck. provided. with a combination clamp and rotating mechanism. for use particularly for handling. commodities such as. paper rolls.

At the; present time, when picking up paper rolls which are stacked on end. adjacent to each other, as for example in. a freight car, one roll or paper must first be. broken. out. manually in order that access maybe. had to it. and the remaining rolls, in that present forms of. clamping means for engaging the rolls are. of a character which must extend. beyond the diametral axis. of the roll.

It. is an object of our present. invention to pro vide a. clamping. means whereby a roll of paper or the like can be engaged at a point rearwardly of. its. diametral axis.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a rotating mechanism adapted to be mounted. on a suitable load carriage for the truck so. that the rolls of paper or other similar commodities may be picked up while they are either in a horizontal or vertical position and deposited or stacked in either horizontal or vertical tiers.

It is another object of our invention to provide a clamping means that may be. adjusted, by remote control means, to engage for example, rolls of paper of various diameters.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following description. Now'in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with. the manner of constructing and using devices in accordance with our invention we shall describe in connection with the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of our invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1- is a perspective view of a conventional type of industrial truck' with which our present invention has been embodied;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the clamping and: rotating mechanism of our invention, rotated 90 from the position shown in Figure 1;.

Figure 3 is a side elevational viewof the clamping and rotating mechanism as shown in Figure' 2,, partly broken away and showing certain parts of the mechanism in section and elevation taken substantially along line 3'-3 of Figure 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Figure 4' is a. vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4. of Figure 2 looking in the direction indicated: by the arrows;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the. rotating mechanism. in the normal position of the clamping means. shown in Figure 2;.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the rotating mechanism after the front plate has revolved from the position. shown. in. Figure 5; and

Figure '7 is an enlarged plan view of a floating type of jaw embodied. with the clamping means:

Referring now to Figure 1, there. is shown an industrial truck, indicated. generally by the reference numeral 1, having a front driving axle 8 and a. rear steering axle. 9 disposed at. its. opposite ends. A vertical mast; of known construction, indicated. generally by the "reference numeral 10, comprises two pairs of channelshaped, vertically extending members, such as members [1-41 and, I2.-l.2, which are telescopically arranged and actuated by hydraulic piston means I 8. The mast is pivotally mounted at 13 adjacent the lower end of the front portion of the chassis and maybe tilted either forwardly or rearwardly by suitable remote control means.

The industrial truck is provided with a steering column. 14 having at its upper end a conventional steering wheel 15 which is manipulateci by the operator t6. Control levers, indicated generally by the reference numeral I1, are provided for the operator for controlling vertical and tilting movement of the mast, and for actuation of the clamping and rotating means of our present invention. The truck is additionally supplied in a conventional manner, with a motor, clutch and brake pedals, and suitable gear shift controls sothat the vehicle may be driven either forwardly or backwardly.

Adjacent the front end of the truck. is a load supporting carriage of known construction, comprising a pair of frame members 19 and 20 ex tending transversely of the truck which: are adapted to be moved: vertically upward: or downward on the mast lit. The rotating and. clamping means of our invention, indicated generally at A, is. adapted to be supported on the frame members l9 and 20 of the load supporting carriage. The arrangement. is such that the rotating and clamping means A is detachably mounted. on the load supporting carriage, so that desired, it may be. removed and other attachments may be substituted therefor so that the truck may be: used for awide varietyof purposes. The rotating and clamping means A comprises an inner or fixed plate member 23, and. an outer or rotatable plate 24 disposed in spaced relation forwardly of the inner plate 23. The inner plate 23 is attached to the load supporting carriage by means of one or more brackets 33 welded to the rear surface of the plate 23 and hooked over the upper frame. member I9. The plate 23 is additionally secured at its lower end to the lower carriage member 22 by a plurality of bolts 35. This construction allows the rotating and clamping means of our invention to be easily and speedily detached to permit substitution of other devices on the front end of the lift truck I.

On the front surface of the inner plate member 23, adjacent the upper and lower edges thereof, are a plurality of rollers 2|, three in number in the specific embodiment disclosed, which are adapted to rotate on shafts carried by bearing blocks 22 mounted on the inner plate 23. The periphera1 surfaces of the rollers are adapted to engage the back surface of the outer or rotatable plate 24 thus spacing the plates 23 and 24 the necessary distance apart toaccommodate therebetween a rotating mechanism hereinafter described. An arcuate channel guide member 25, mounted on the front face of inner plate 23, is adapted to be engaged by a shoe member 26' attached to the back face of the outer plate 24, during rotation of the outerplate 24 with respect to the inner plate 23. The channel guide member is formed to provide an arcuate guide shoulder 45 for slidingly engaging the outer peripheral surface of the shoe. 7

' Fastened to the lower left hand corner of plate 23 as viewed in Figures 2, and 6, by a fixed pivot 31, is a hydraulic actuating assembly 44 comprising a cylinder 36 and piston rod 38. The outer end of piston rod 38 of the hydraulic actuating assembly 44, is pivotally connected at H to a rotatable housing member 39. The housing member 39 is fabricated from an annular ring 28 having an arcuate oil groove around the inside of its periphery and end flanges 29, secured at either edge of the outside periphery of the annular ring 28. V a

The rotating mechanism further comprises a second hydraulic actuating assembly 45. The assembly 45 includes a cylinder 40 which is pivotally connected at its closed end as at 4! to the housing member 39 diametrically opposite pivot 1|, and a piston rod 42 which is pivotally connected at its outer end as at 43 to the rear surface of the outer plate member 24; A plurality of fluid lines 45C, 46D, 46J and 46K are provided to conduct fluid under pressure to the hydraulic actuatin assemblies 44 and 45 to effect rotation of the rotatable plate 24 in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The housing member 39 through which rotation of plate member 24 is effected, as best shown in Figure 3, is journaled for rotation on a housing 3! which is rotatably supported by a roller bearing assembly disposed between the inner periphery of housing 3| and a forwardly extending stub shaft 26 secured centrally of inner plate 23. This bearing assembly is retained in position by means of a nut 30 threaded on the threads 47 at the outer end of the shaft 25.

The housing 3! is of substantially cup-shape and is formed with an annular flange 3! at its forward end which seats in a conformably shaped recess provided therefor in rotatable plate member 24 and is secured thereto by a plurality of bolts 48. The rotatable member 39 is journaled on the housing 3| concentrically thereof and coaxially of the shaft 26, roller bearing assembly 2? and housing 3| The inner face 21a of the roller bearin assembly 21 preferably has a press fit with the shaft 26 as has the outer race 212) with the housing 3i As noted the housings 3| and 39 are mounted so as to provide for relative rotation therebetween about a common axis With respect to each other.

The aforementioned clamping means of our invention is adapted to be carried by the outer or rotatable plate member 24. The clamping mechanism, as best shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, preferably comprises a fixed panel member 49 secured, as by welding along one edge to extend forwardly of the truck and at; right angles to the rotatable plate member 24, and a movable panel member 5| disposed at the edge of the rotatable plate member 24' opposite the edge to which panel 49 is secured, and in substantially parallel relation to the latter.

Suitable actuating means is provided for moving the panel member 5| toward and away from fixed panel 49 and such means preferably comprises a hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 52 located forwardly and centrally of the rotat able plate member 24 as shown in Figure 2; The closed end of the cylinder 54 of the hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 52 is pivotally secured, as by a shaft 53,to a pair of spaced bracket members 59 secured, as by welding adjacent the edge of the rotatable plate member 24 to which panel 49 is secured one at each side of the cylinder 54. The free end of the piston rod 55 of the hy-- draulic piston and cylinder assembly 52 is connected to the movable panel member 5 I, by means of a plurality of frame members forming a boxlike construction indicated generally at 59 in Figures 2 and 4, extending transversely adjacent the edge of the rotatable plate member 24 opposite the edge to which the fixed panel 49 is secured The box member 59 is fabricatedfrom a pair of metal strap members 56 and 58 secured, as by welding, adjacent their inner longitudinal edges on either side of a strap member 51 as best shown in Figure 4. The outer longitudinal edge of strap member 56 is secured, as by welding to the adjacent portion of the movable panel member 5!. A pair of roller carrier frame members 60 are secured at their outer ends one to each of the outer ends of the box member 59 as best shown in Figure 2, and the inner ends of the frame members 69 are connected by a plate member 8|.

In order to reduce friction between the movable panel member 5| and guide means provided therefor, a plurality of roller assembly means indicated generally at 15, are provided. A roller assembly means is disposed one adjacent each of the ends of the roller frame members 60 and since they are of identical construction it is believed a description of one will be sufficient for our present disclosure. The roller assembly means 15 each comprises a shaft 6i extending laterally outwardly from a roller carrier frame 60 and rotatably supports a roller 62. Adjacent to and inwardly of each roller 52 a substantially C-shaped bracket 76 is secured as by a bolt to the roller carrier frame member 6!). A shaft 1! extends between the legs of the C-shaped member 15 and rotatably supports a roller 18. The shafts 6i and H, as shown, are disposed to support rollers 62 and 18 for rotation about axes extending at right angles to each other. v

The guide means for the movable panel or clamp 5! of which the roller assemblies 15 form a part, further comprises a pair of roller, guide members 19 of substantially c-shape in crossassume section. The guide members 19 are secured to therotatable panel 24 so that one extends lengthwise of and in juxtaposition of each roller carri-er frame member 60 and opening toward the latter so as to receive the roller assemblies 15 therein. In this arrangement of parts it will be observed that the rollers ll are adapted to have rolling engagement with the bight portions of the guide members 19, and that the rollers 62 are disposed between the opposed inner surfaces of the leg of the guide members 19 and are adapted for rolling engagement with one of the legs to provide for anti-friction guiding of the movable clamp 5| toward and away from the fixed clamp panel 49.

In order to provide for the selective movement of the movable panel or clamp member 5] with respect to the fixed panel or clamp member 49, the piston 55 of hydraulic actuating assembly 52 :hereinbefore described is connected to the box frame member 59. For this purpose the piston "rod 55 adjacent its outer or free end is provided with a washer 63 suitably secured thereto. The end of the piston rod 55 extending outwardly of the washer 63 extends through an opening formed in the frame member 5'! of the box frame 59 centrally of the ends thereof. A coil spring and a washer Eli are retained at the end of the piston rod 55. The connection between the piston rod 55 and the box frame member 59 as previously described, permits alignment between the panel members 49 and 5! and a pane roll as will presently appear.

The panel or clamp members 48 and 5| preferably are braced so that they may be used in handling commodities of substantial weight. For that purpose the fixed panel member All is braced by a curved plate member 6'! which is welded at one edge thereof near the forwardly projecting edge of panel member 49 and at it other end to the sides of the adjacent portions of the guide channel members It. In addition end cover members 68 and 8B are secured to the horizontal extending edges of the side panel member 49., the end edges of curved, member 51, and to the adjacent portion of the front face of the rotatable plate 24. The movable panel member 5| is braced by a curved plate member e6 which is welded along one edge adjacent the forwardly projecting edges of panel member 5| and at the .r

ends of its other lengthwise edge to the roller carrier frame members Bil. In addition end cover members 68 and 35) close the open ends formed by the curved panel 56 with the panel or clamp member 5| and are suitably welded thereto.

In order to enable the clamping mechanism of our invention to grip frictionally a roll of paper, a pair of fixed jaw members 69 are secured to the forwardly projecting edges of the panel members 49 and ill, as best shown in Figure 3. Preferably however, we propose to provide floating or selfadjusting type jaws indicated generally by the reference numeral 1!! as shown in Figures 1 and 7 for the clamp members 49 and 5|. These jaws may be of any suitable construction and may for example as shownin Figure 7 comprise an arouate plate member l2 having a lengthwise extent substantially equal to the side panel members 49 and 51. As shown in the figure referred to, the plate member 712 is pivot-ally secured-intermediate its lengthwise edges to the frame member 49 by means of one or more hinge connections '14. If desired, suitable spring means may be provided for normally holding the jaw members in a seall r: In

ate the previou 6 lected position for convenient application to a commodit to be engaged between the clamp plates and which spring means yields to permit engagement of substantially the entire inner surface of plate 12 with the commodity upon clamp ing movement of clamp 5|, with respect to clamp 49.

A typical illustration of the manner in which the aforedescribed mechanism may be utilized will now be described.

The operator may dispose the truck, as shown in Figure l, in a position with respect of a roll of paper standing on its end that is to be picked up. The truck is manipulated so that side panel or clamp members 49 and 5| are positioned parallel to the lengthwise extent of the roll. The operator then opens the clamping mechanism by selectively operating one of the remote control levers of the group at I! which, as will be seen upon reference to Figure 2, permits fluid under pressure to flow through the fluid line SI-A into the closed end of cylinder 54 of the hydraulic actuating assembly 52, forcing the piston and piston rod 55 outwardly of the cylinder which in turn pushes the movable frame member 5| away from the fixed frame member 49. The truck is then driven forward until the clamping jaw, secured to the fixed panel member 49, is disposed closely adjacent to, but rearwardly of, the diametral axis of the paper roll.

Now. by manipulation of the appropriate control lever of the group at H, fluid under pressure is admitted through the fluid line Bl-B, into the casing 554 while fluid line li'l-A is bled which force the piston and piston rod 55 inwardly of the cylinder which, in turn, pulls the movable frame member 5| toward the paper roll until the clamping jaw secured to the movable panel memher 5 l, and the clamping jaw, secured to the fixed panel -.me;mber 49, tightly grip the roll of paper.

By selectively operating a different lever of the group at ll, fluid is induced into the hydraulic cylinder assembly I8 forcing telescopic member E2 or" the mast Ii upward. The member 12 carries the load supporting carriage and clamping, and rotating mechanism upwardly with it, thus raisingthe roll of paper off of the ground enabling it to be transported to a new location. Since the roll is gripped by jaws 69 rearwardly of its diametral axis, it is unnecessary to first break out one roll manually from adjacentrolls stacked onend. This procedure not only saves time, but also eliminates the necessity of having extra men for breaking out rolls.

Now, when depositing a load, the procedure as outlined above is reversed. That is, the truck is positioned in front of and adjacent to the area where the paper roll i to be deposited. The hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly |8 is suitably actuated to lower the telescopic mast and plate members 23 and 24 until the bottom of the roll of paper engages the surface of the ground. Thereafter, the movable panel member 5! may be shifted away from, engagement with the paper roll. The truck may then be backed away.

If the rolls are up in a vertical position, as shown in i re 1, and are required to be stacked or unloaded horizontal position as. of the paper roll to a the operator only has to actue mechanism to revolve the roll :30. Conversely; if the rolls are picked up in a horizontal position and are required to be stacked in a vertical position, as

shown in Figure l, the operator also only has to actuate the rotating mechanism to revolve the roll 90.

The rotating mechanism when in the position shown in Figure 5, provides for disposal of the panels or clamp members 38 and Si in substantially horizontal position. If the operator desires to effect rotation of the rotatable plate 24 to dispose the clamp members as and in vertical position, he selectively operates one lever of the group at ll which controls the selective connection of fluid lines 46E and 48F with a source of fluid under pressure developed as previously mentioned, by suitable pump means carried by the truck. When either line 35E or 46F isconnected "with the source of fluid under pressure, the other is bled. The lines GEE; and ME having connection with a pressure regulator valve 52, from which pressure lines MG and 451-1 extend to a distributor valve 83. A, first pair of fluid lines, etc and ear. extend from the distributor valve as to the lower and upper ends of the cylinder 35, and a second pair of fluid lines, 46K and 46D, extend, respectively, to the upper and lower ends of cylinder fi l, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. in the position of the parts shown in Figure 5, the lines ME and 45F are under pressure and bleed so as to provide for the admission of fluid under pressure through regulator valve 32 and distributor valve 33 to lines 463 and 36K so that the rotatable plate member is disposed in the position shown in Figure 2, and in which position the clamp panels 29 and 55 extend horizontally.

In order to effect rotation of the movable plate member 90, the valve controlling connection of fluid lead lines 651*. and 46F is manipulated so that the line that was under pressure is now under bleed and the line that was under bleed is now under pressure This reversal of the pressure conditions of the lines effects flow through the distributor valve 33 to lines 45D and 45C and establishes bleed of lines 26K and 45.1. Under these conditions, the rotatable housing member 39 is rotated clockwise from the position shown in Figure 5 to the position shown in'Figure 6 to effect rotation of the rotatable plate 24 90, which then disposes the panel or clamp members 45: and 5! in the vertical position of Figure 1.

Thus,"by suitable control of the admission of fluid under pressure to lines ME and 46F, the driver may selectively dispose the clamping means in either horizontal or vertical position, and by appropriate control of the hydraulic actuating means for the clamping means, as described, effect actuation ofthe clamping and rotating mechanism as may be desired in handling various kinds of commodities.

While we have shown and described what we consider to be a preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that various modifications .and rearrangements may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.

We claim:

1. In an'industrial truck having a load supporting carriage, a rotating mechanism comprising, a pair of first and second spaced apart vertical plate members adapted to extend transversely of the truck, said first plate member being adapted to be ri idly secured to said lead supporting carriage, means carried by said first plate member for rotatably supporting said secondplate member, rotatable housing means journaled on said last named means, a pair of first and second hydraulic actuating assemblies, said first hydraulic actuating assembly being pivotally secured at one end to the front surface of said first plate member and at its other end to said rotatable housing means, and said second hydraulic actuating assembly being pivotally secured at one end to said rotatable housing means and at its other end to the rear surface of said second plate member.

2. In an industrial truck having a load supporting carriage, a rotating mechanism comprising, a pair of first and second spaced apart verti cal plate members adapted to extend transversely of the truck, said first plate member being adapted to be rigidly secured to said load supporting carriage, means carried by said first plate member for rotatably supporting said second plate member, said means comprising a stub shaft being disposed substantially centrally of said first plate member and projecting forwardly thereof, a fixed housing member secured to said second plate member projecting rearwardly thereof and being located substantially centrally thereof, said fixed housing member being ,iournaled on said stub shaft, rotatable housing means journaled on said fixed housing member, a pair of first and second hydraulic actuating assemblies, said first hydraulic actuating assembly being pivotally secured at one end to the front surface of said first plate member and at its other end to said rotatable housing means, and said second hydraulic actuating assembly being pivotally secured at one end to said rotatable housing means and at its other end to the rear surface of said second plate member. H

The combination called for in claim 2 wherein said first and second hydraulic actuating assemblies are pivotally secured to said rotatable housing means at substantially diametrically opposite points thereon. 4. The combination called for in claim 3 wherein a plurality of rollers are disposed between said first and second plate members, said rollers being rotatably secured to the front surface of said first plate member and being adapted to engage the rear surface of said second plate member.

5. The combination called for in claim 4 characterized by an arcuate guide membersccured to the front surface of said first plate member and being adapted to engage with a shoe membersecured to the rear surface of said second plate member. V v

6. The combination called for in claim 5 wherein a bearing assembly is disposed between said stub shaft and said fixed housing member.

7. In an'indu'strial truck having a load supporting carriage, a rotating mechanism comprising, 'a pair of first and second spaced apart vertical plate members adapted to extend transversely of the truck, said first plate member being adapted to be rigidly secured to said load supporting carriage, means carried by said first plate member for rotatably supporting said secend plate member, rotatable housing means journaled on said last named means, a pair of first and second hydraulic actuating assemblies, said first hydraulic'actuating assembly being pivotally secured at one end to'the front surface of said first plate member and at its other end to said rotatable housing means, said second hydraulic actuating assembly being pivotally secured at one one to said rotatable housing means and at its other. end'to'the rear surface of said second plate member, a clamping mechanism comprising, a pair of first and second panel members, said first and second panel members being disposed adjacent oppcsite edges of said second plate member and extending forwardly therefrom, said first panel member being rigidly secured to one edge of said second plate member, and means for said second panel member for mounting the same for movement toward and away from said first panel member.

8. In an industrial truck having a load supporting carriage, a clamping mechanism comprising, a vertical plate member adapted to extend transversely of the truck, a pair of first and second panel members being disposed adjacent opposed edges of said vertical plate member and extending forwardly therefrom, said first panel member being rigidly secured to said vertical plate member, guide means associated with said second panel member for guiding movement of the same toward and away from said first panel member, said guide means comprising, a pair of channel members disposed adjacent opposite edges of said vertical plate member perpendicularly to said first and second panel I members, a longitudinal box-like structure disposed adjacent the edges of both said second panel member and said vertical plate member, a pair of roller carrier members disposed parallel to said vertical plate member, said members carrier members, said roller means being adapted to have rolling engagement within said channel members, means for said second panel member for effecting movement of the same toward and away from said first panel member, said means comprising, a hydraulic actuating assembly, said hydraulic actuating assembly being disposed adjacent the central portion of said vertical plate member and extending longitudinalh, between said first and second panel members, and said hydraulic actuating assembly being pivotally secured at its one end to said first panel member and at its other end to the central portion of said box-like structure.

9. The clamping mechanism of claim 8 characterized by the provision of resilient means for connecting said hydraulic actuating assembly to said box-like structure.

E RYAN BACKOFEN. ALFRED WAYNE GUNNING.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,878,994 Abbe Sept. 27, 1932 2,281,004 Lehmann et a1. Apr. 28, 1942 2,287,469 Cochran June 23, 1942 2,335,572 Schroeder Nov. 30, 1943 2,407,088 Maxson Sept. 3, 1946 2,457,366 Guerin Dec. 28, 1948 2,468,326 Gleason 1- Apr. 26, 1949 2,475,367 Avery July 5, 1949 2,507,583 Wellman May 16, 1950 2,522,128 Lehmann Sept. 12, 1950 2,571,550 Ehmann Oct. 16, 1951 

